The children and parents at Dharma Club in August 2011 made a beautiful Peace Mandala.

One Sunday a month, 10:30am-12:30pm.

If you’re aged between 4 and 15 and want to have some fun & live a healthy life, then Dharma Club might be for you.

It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you can come to Dharma Club without giving up your religious beliefs or customs. The Club is co-ordinated by Jenny Molloy, a trained teacher, so you’ll get to do activities that are fun and interesting, not boring adult stuff.

The aim is to show you how to be really happy by thinking and doing good things. You’ll get to listen to stories, learn meditation, act in plays and join in discussions that can help you live a healthy life.

The Club is divided into three groups 4-6, 7-9 and 10-15 years, so you’ll be with children your own age. The morning starts at 10:30 and we share a snack from midday for a 12:30 finish. You can start any time and you can come whenever you want to because there are no fees and no formal commitment.

If you want to join us or to find out more, you or your parent can call our office on (03) 9596 8900 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Dharma club is for school age children as these are the ages that they able to concentrate and participate. Younger siblings are welcome to come but we ask that parents supervise the younger child to keep the disruption to a minimum.

Dharma Club needs to be flexible. Children’s lives are so busy these days. There is so much input and so much activity that we resist asking people to enrol and make a firm commitment. So you may come one month but not the next if that suits the family. Because of this fluidity, the groups may change each month and you may not find your child in the same group. Please speak with Jenny if you have specific requirements.

Teachers:

Trish is a qualified Kindergarten teacher and looks after the Junior group.

Helen Ponder is a trained teacher, and Education officer of the Buddhist Council of Victoria.

Jenny Molloy is a trained secondary school teacher and has been coordinating Dharma Club for now her sixth year. Jenny will coordinate the two older groups with the help of visiting teachers, such as Ven Michael Yeshe, Translator at Tara Institute and visiting teachers.

Aim:

That children have fun together learning about Buddhist philosophy.

The main thrust we would like the children to get is:

Good thoughts lead to good actions = happiness.

Unhappy thoughts lead to unhappy actions =sadness.

Practising love and compassion we can direct our minds in the right direction.

It is most important the kids know that “Kind is Cool!” and that there are other children that think like they do.

Part of each class will be dedicated to simple meditation. Meditation can contribute a great deal to one’s sense of well being. It is hoped that the children can gain some inner knowledge.

Suggested Topics

A quiet still place–The source of happiness within us all

Karma–Sow happy seeds for tomorrow: No effort = no result

Practising patience as an antidote to anger

Jealousy and its antidote–Rejoicing

What makes for a good friend versus peer group pressure

Developing kindness as a source of happiness

Finding the right direction: The eight fold path to happiness

Who is the Dalai Lama? We are fortunate enough to have His Holiness visit Australia once again in December, so hopefully there will be an opportunity to see him.

The material will be appropriately adapted to each age group. There will be a mixture of story telling, craft, discussion, and practical meditation.

Dharma Club 2010

Dates

June 20th – July 18th – August 15th – September 12th – October 17th – November 14th

Family Picnic day will be advised for December

Times:

10.30am to 12.00pm with snack from 12.00pm to 12.30pm

Please arrive by 10.20am. Please be prompt as the groups will be divided accordingly and late arrivals will change the dynamics of the group. After snack is finished at 12.30pm the children will need their family to supervise them.

Location:

Landcox Hall, Tara institute, 3 Mavis Avenue, East Brighton, 3187

If you want to join us or to find out more, please call our office on (03) 9596 8900 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

We do need support to run the Dharma Club. There is no charge at present for attending Dharma Club. However, there are expenses to cover, especially with craft and purchase of books.

Library

If we get contributions we can build up our library. We also need a Library Monitor to coordinate the library. If you wish to make a contribution, please donate via Jenny Molloy.

Cleaning roster

We need a separate volunteer each class to help pack up and clean up the Dharma Club and the dining room.

Snack

After each class we need people to set up and make ready the 12pm snack. We would like parents to take turns in providing the food for snack, i.e. Sausage rolls and Party Pies (50 in total) and one packet of vegetarian option.

Notice Boards

It would be great to make our notice boards come alive this year. Is there anyone who has an interest in taking on this project?

If you have any ideas or contributions please let us know (E.g. any good books or movies you see that have a good message.) There will be a notice board to advertise these.

Can you play music?

We would love to have musical element to the program but we need to find the resources.

practising generosity

Dharma Quote

I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment.